Easy Pico de Gallo

Making fresh pico de gallo is a happy place for me. I take my time with the prep and make sure that everything is diced as evenly as possible. I always like to have a fresh batch on hand in my fridge. This post shares this simple recipe along with some photography tips from my photo shoot.

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Fresh Pico De Gallo

Photography Tips for Pico de Gallo

TRY A DARK AND MOODY LOOK

Every photographer has a style and I tend to love the dark and moody look in food photography. I love simplicity in the composition, but contrast and texture through the props and food. A dark and moody look doesn’t mean you’re shooting with less light either. Use darker props and surfaces and shape your lighting to highlight the food and create some deep shadows and contrast around it.

SHOW OFF THE INGREDIENTS

I used a black plate instead of a bowl, because I wanted to spread the salsa around a bit to show off the ingredients and colors. Drawing inspiration from the ingredient shot above, I decided to add some extra halved cherry tomatoes for a little pop of color within the reds and greens. A little water spilled onto the surface as I was setting up and I decided to keep it, because I liked the added texture on the surface.

ADD SOME PERSONALITY

The vintage spoon is a little “inside joke” addition, because Mike has often caught me eating my pico with a spoon. 😉 So, I decided to include a spoon in my shoot.

PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT

For this shoot, I used one  Paul C. Buff strobe with a large soft box, my Nikon D750 and my 35mm 1.4. I set up my camera on my overhead setup to stabilize my camera and shot tethered. My camera settings for this shoot were: 1/200; f14; ISO 100. Depending on your lighting situation, your camera settings may need be much different, especially if you’re shooting with natural light.

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Read More About: My Current Gear for Food Photography

Recipe Notes for Pico de Gallo

This recipe is really easy, but does require some prep with the chopping. Finely dicing the tomatoes, red onion and pepper can take a little patience and time, but it’s worth it for a balanced texture. I always rinse the diced tomatoes in a colander to remove the seeds and extra juice before mixing everything together. I let them sit and may pat them with a paper towel to remove some of the excess water. Mixing the rest of the ingredients with the finely diced tomatoes is a really pretty presentation. The colors are so vibrant and the flavors are fresh and delicious. I hope you try it and let me know!

Happy Cooking!

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Read More About: Fresh Strawberry Salsa

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Pico de Gallo

Author Regan Baroni

Ingredients

• 2 cups tomatoes, finely diced and rinsed
• 1 cup red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, de-seeded and diced (can substitute with a jalapeño, if desired)
• Zest of 1 lime
• Juice of 1 lime, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

1. After dicing the tomatoes, place in a strainer and rinse to remove/drain the seeds.
2. Allow the diced tomatoes to dry a bit in the strainer so they're not too wet and watery when combining the rest of the ingredients. 
3. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until well combined.
4. Let chill in fridge, covered, for 4 hours or overnight before serving.
5. Taste and adjust the flavor balance to your liking.
6. Store in an air-tight container in fridge for up to one week.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase through my site, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only promote products that I actually use and support. 

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All images ©Regan Baroni 2017.